BEIJING, Dec. 1 -- A strong cold front will sweep central and east China, bringing sharp temperature drops on Monday and Tuesday, the National Meteorological Center said on Monday.

The center warned that temperatures will drop by about 8 degrees Celsius in parts of northeast and south China, areas along the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers, as well as regions to the south of the Yangtze over the next two days. The eastern parts of Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces will see temperatures drops of over 10 degrees Celsius, accompanied by strong winds.

The center forecast that the eastern part of Heilongjiang will see heavy snow, with some areas experiencing blizzards with up to 30 mm of snow.

The observatory continued a blue alert for cold wave on Monday morning.

China has a four-tier color-coded warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.